Everyone knows about BB King, some know Albert King due to Stevie Ray being greatly influenced by him. Sadly less people know about Freddie King who had a huge influence on Eric Clapton.

Freddie was amazing in my book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE9H1bW-zQ4

Freddie was great, but to say that he was better than either Albert or BB is really pushing it. Freddy was flashy as hell, but lacked Albert's balls or BB's soul.

And I was into Albert long before anyone outside of Texas had heard of SRV. Not knocking SRV in any way, but your youth is showing.

Freddie was amazing, big fan

Expanding your horizons is beneficial.

4:13 some of the best choruses I've ever heard.

The appreciation of guitar style and composition re: "Where It All Came From" like most other disciplines suffers over time as only the most popular, not necessarily the most creative, get remembered. We lose touch with the less well-known as time goes on. I once over a period of years asked maybe 12-15 drummers "Who invented the shuffle swing beat?" and only 2 older guys knew though all of them played it. More than half knew who Freddie Below was but all of them had heard of Gene Krupa. That's not to say Gene was not worthy of remembering, only that Freddie is as well and certainly the guy whose name I forget that invented the beat that was the basis for all of Rock n Roll and some Jazz.

I used drummers as an example to avoid emotional reactions among guitar players, but coming up in the 60s all the guitar players I knew were listening to all that we could get hold of ... Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, Lightnin Hopkins, Gatemouth Brown, TBone Walker, Guitar Slim, Muddy Waters, Hubert Sumlin, all of the Kings (Albert, BB and of course Freddie) and many others. Judging by YouTube views only the most well-known get much views let alone respect.

These guys and many others invented it at it's most fundamental yet a few were so skilled and polished that what they played and how they played it still stands up today. It just seems less impressive out of context since we grow up with who benefitted and grew from the original. Very few players born after 1980 understand even how massive Hendrix was simply because of context and frame of reference.

Just as many young players think Eddie Van Halen invented tapping, they don't really grasp how much more of a quantum leap it was back 40 years earlier.

Here's an example. It isn't as fiery as Freddie and certainly not as adventurous as BB and Albert, especially in vibrato and bends, both up and down, as BB and Albert, but TBone was playing on 13s! and not tuned down a half step... but it's basically all there and was in place years before 1950..

I never said Freddie was better, he is just not as well known. They all have their own unique style and all King's are equally great. For those who were blown away by Derek and the Dominos with Have you ever loved a woman, seeing Freddie play the song who did it first and who influenced Clapton is a treat.

There are many great guitar players like Charlie Christian, Django Reinhardt, and Scotty More who were also great players to check out. Thanks for the T Bone Walker video, great stuff.

I wish my 'youth was showing'.... I'd take that as a compliment.

Yeah, Freddie is the least known of the "Kings." No shortage of blues talent to blame. Just whatever. Who knows. All the Kings were great.

Well, except perhaps in Texas and thereabouts...

Leon Russel and that, Shelter Records...

Sept 3rd... Freddie King Day in Texas!

The Stumble by Freddie King has been covered by so many great players including Peter Green , Gary Moore and Jeff Beck.

Grew up in Memphis and played Beale St for decades. Got to play with BB but only found Freddies music years later and was floored by his style.

I get the fun of comparing musicians like it's UFC 345 but competition literally doesn't exist in music, whatsoever.

Lets push it.
Freddy was the King of the Kings.

Caught BB a couple of shows.
Couldn't play rhythm to save his ass,soloed over anyone and everyone
at any given moment.Whats for dinner?...sacred cow, medium rare.

Loved Albert,so went to a club...front row.
A cat in a blender had more tone.SHRILLecaster!
Great playing but WTF?Finished the show on the sidewalk.

No competition in music?
It was called cuttin'
Dudes were coming for your gig.. at your gig.

Now everyone gets a blue ribbon with a cheap T shirt on Beale Street.
(I once sat in with Blues Hammer)

If i have offended anyone.
I would like to apologize to absolutely....nobody!

The King is gone but he's not forgotten.

What year? Sure he degraded with age (who doesn't?) but his playing was phenomenal when young. Live at the Regal is a moderately decent but very often quoted example but I liked him even earlier like on "The Soul of BB King". There are a few really early videos of BB where he is on point like a mug. Just killer. Seek them.

Aren't you talking about Albert Collins? I don't recall Albert King playing anything but a Gibson with humbuckers. Collins, who always played Telecaster, had the monicker "The Ice Pick" for several reasons but one of them was his tone.

If you don't grasp just how important BB is, you need to see this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Edft9kir_xM

BB King can't play chords but for lead guitar, he has the biggest feeling in those notes. I'm surprised he told Bono he can't play chords. I mean seriously after all these years
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpMbvFlMrvg

The sad thing about Freddie King besides dying too soon was most people under the age of 50 never heard of him.